Stroggos
Stroggos is the homeworld of the hostile cybernetic Strogg species. It is an Earthlike planet, with an oxygen rich atmosphere, hence humans being able to breathe there, and organic creatures being able to live there. Most of its known and charted surface is comprised of vast industrial wastelands, leaving the planet to appear like an orange desert world from space. The planet was discovered to be the homeworld of the Strogg some time between the events of ''Enemy Territory: Quake Wars'' and Quake 2, and two human invasions were launched in succession against it with the aim of ending the Strogg threat by annihilating their species. Despite extensive operations carried out there, little is known about the planet itself. Bitterman reported seeing a ring of asteroids around the planet, in the First Invasion, although during the Second Invasion no such rings were seen. Stroggos has been stripped of all usable material and resources by the Strogg civilisation, who have mined most of the metals, oil, and any other raw material that they could acquire. By now, most life forms on ecologically-ravaged Stroggos have undergone the process of Stroggification, becoming conscripted units in the Strogg military, although there are minor exceptions, such as the hostile mutant wildlife that continues to roam in some locations but is equally hostile to invading human forces. The orange colouration of the Strogg homeworld may have contributed to their excessive use of the color in much of their technology, military painting and insignia, to represent their civilization. History and geological origins Little is known about Stroggos' origins though it can be speculated that it follows a similar pattern to Earth. The planet is roughly the same size and belongs to a a star system with a similar sun to our own, orbiting at an eerily familiar distance thereto. It has been portrayed differently. While Quake 2 portrays Stroggos as a planet possessing a dangerous ring of asteroids and much space debris orbiting it that might endanger incoming craft, Quake 4 instead portrays it as a completely barren orange desert world all across its surface, the industrial Strogg wastelands easily visible from space. In addition, Quake 2 portrays the planet with a barren dull grey-brown colouration, although much of the environment when the marine lands is orange in colouration, including the sky. While the planet in Quake 4 appears orange, the sky no longer has its colouration and is instead simply a polluted cloudy blue and grey sky that is more Earth-like. The answer may be that the planet undergoes different phases- it is not known if planet is heated by multiple suns although only one is ever visible at a given time, which could mean that different kinds of star were responsible for the different lighting effects between Quake 2 and Quake 4. An explanation for the absence of the space debris and the ring around Stroggos in Quake 4 could be that the Strogg had devised an artificial way of sustaining a ring of space debris as a defence against the Earth invasion, which was somehow disabled in the human war effort at some time between Quake 2 and 4. No definitive conclusions can be arrived at by the humans, who have had little time to study Stroggos' exact position and nature, so much of a higher priority has the Strogg's military defeat been. Geography Stroggos is mainly a barren wasteland according to most surveillance and reconaissance efforts. However, there are dense concentrations of machinery and industrial equipment making highly capable production centres for the Strogg military. In addition, countless communication centres and factories have been identified across the surface. The Strogg population, all of which are classed as military personnel, reside within the fortified cities and military installations. Asteroid impact sites Strogg capital Cerberon was constructed into Crator Majoris, with a smaller crater located nearby that the Strogg used to house defences for the city. Natural defences Stroggos has mountain ranges on it, although most are as barren and desolate as much of the surface. The Core and its three supporting towers were well-fortified in a natural defence, with the Core tower itself deeply dug into the ground. The three towers stood extremely tall as they were already atop massive geographic elevations. Stroggos also has caves, ridges and cliffs. The Strogg are no strangers to the use of natural defences in warfare, as their obsession has led them to have explore almost every form of warfare in its entirity. Climate Information on the Strogg climate is limited. It is generally very calm and there is little reason to be concerned for the SMC operations in this matter. Although Strogg facilities bear evidence of extensive weathering, the age and neglect of these rusting buildings suggests that the weather was not harsh on them. Human forces should be able to conduct operations without any concern for violent weather conditions. Nonetheless, there is litte evidence of rainfall on Stroggos. The planet is slowly drying up, as the Strogg monopolise all moisture in their stroyent system that has become their chief wartime resource. Humans should be able to extract, and decontaminate, moisture from the air, however small its traces may be- in order to quench the thirst of an ever-fighting army on the planet. Ecology Stroggos is a shining example of what happens if you do not care for the environment or the wildlife. The Strogg have been so preoccupied with industrialisation and war that they never cared for the fate of the ecosystem that had evolved their own bodies. Perhaps this is a contributing factor for why they moved on to become completely dependent on technology. With an ecosystem that cannot hold together, food supply collapses, the very air becomes polluted until it can no longer breath. Wildlife dies out and in a chain reaction the dominant predator- which on Stroggos would be the original organic Strogg beings themselves- are forced to seek an "unnatural" way to preserve themselves- the Strogg utilise the most unnatural process of preserving their own lives that has ever been recorded to have occured in the history of ethics. Despite the extensive damage to the environment, some wretched and mutated alien wildlife was discovered by humans on Stroggos in Quake 2. These mutants are as hostile to the alien presence of humans as any Strogg, though they are not regarded as Strogg military units and were not observed in Quake 4. Civilization See: Strogg There is no record of any other civilization inhabiting Stroggos other than the Strogg themselves. They have displayed no interest in cultural development, as all efforts are placed in military, scientific, medical and industrial efforts, due to the barbaric priority of conquering other cultures. The Strogg civilisation is largely an Earth parallel, although far more advanced and without any known development by the species in ethics, philosophy or religion. Clearly, therefore, the Strogg lacked key pressures that contributed to human evolution (altruism never evolved so remorse, pity or frienship were never Strogg traits or are at least long forgotten), despite their natural body design and physiology being similar, i.e. red blood. This could also be explained by the assumption by some Humans that the Strogg actually never were a biologically evolving species, but rather created by another, unknown race for the sole purpose of warfare, which would require no culture or ethics. Nearly all life on Stroggos is cybernetically augmented. The only exceptions are the mutants discovered in Quake 2. Category:Locations